Let me now... warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party.

George Washington in his Farewell Address

The word "baneful" is defined as destructive and poisonous. There may be no better description of politics in America in the 21st century. It seems our politicians have forgotten who they serve. Their actions seem to indicate that they prefer division and ruin of the nation, to the possibility of losing power. The thing we need to remember is that it has not always been that way, nor does this poisonous path to destruction have to continue.

There was a time when honor, character and courage were the hallmarks of this nation's servants. Now it seems that the letter behind the politicians name is more important to voters than virtue. So our once great nation is going the way of other once great nations: To the brink of financial and moral bankruptcy.

At the time of this writing we have a government mired in the scandals of cover-ups, deceit of its own people and lying that can only be described as pathological. If that were not bad enough, they are now spying on us as if it were we who could not be trusted. Ironic, isn't it?

But this does not have to be. Imagine what our nation would be like if we no longer voted for those with a track record of lies and deceit. Imagine what it would be like if we refused to cast our vote for a person who lacked character or honor. Consider what would happen if we made a firm determination to vote only for the decent, for the honorable, and for the upright in our society.

Ridiculous? Naive? Try righteous! The fact is that if we continue to do what we have always done, if we continue to place loyalty to party over the standards of our Lord, then we will continue to have scoundrels making our laws and telling us what to do.

America is in trouble. We have become so overrun with the baneful spirit of party that we cannot trust our chosen leaders to do the right thing or even tell the truth. We wouldn't accept such conduct from from anyone else but a politician and it's time to stop accepting it from them. We have one party that cannot seem to tell the truth and another party that appears too afraid to do anything about it. It now falls to us to right what is wrong with our nation - if we are to leave a nation to our children that is worth living in. To do so we will have to return to God. It begins with prayer, but actions will have to follow prayer, for God will not help those who are too wicked or lazy to help themselves.

It is time to take our country back!

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip. The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives; but the Lord will not leave them in power.

"Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen. And now, any of those who refuse, or are unable to prove they are citizens will receive free insurance paid for those who are forced to buy insurance because they are citizens"

Ben Stein

Now, fathom the hypocrisy of a group of people who say they stand for "pro-choice" telling those of us who are against killing babies in the womb that we must not only let them be free to make this choice, but also we must be forced to buy "health" insurance against our choice... and that we must pay for everyone who cannot or will not pay for the killing of their own babies!

For those who cannot fathom why this makes me mad, maybe the following will help:

I don't believe that I would have taken part in fighting for the owning of slaves during the civil war.

I don't believe that I would have taken part in the extermination of Jews during WWII.

And..

I don't think that I will be taking part in this type of health care.

You see, I have read the Bible and I have found out what God has to say about hypocrites. Frankly, I believe that I would rather pay the penalty this side of Judgment for not joining the hypocrites, than pay the penalty after the Judgment that is reserved for those who join the hypocrites now.

"You snakes. You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to Hell?"

Anarchy is defined as a state of disorder due to the absence or lack of recognition of authority. After watching the riots break out in Ferguson, Missouri, one gets an idea of what anarchy is like. People are mad because they didn't get their way, so they are rioting, looting, burning police cars, and anything else they can think of. They don't feel that they received justice so, for a time at least, they are refusing to recognize authority.

Last Friday, our President did the same thing. He did not like the current laws and did not like the fact that Congress would not pass a law to make things like he wanted. So he broke the very Constitution that he had sworn to defend and changed the law by himself. And Congress, with prominent leaders in both houses calling his acts "lawless", has done nothing. They have done nothing despite the fact that they took an oath to uphold the Constitution, (a part of which is to control the President when he breaks the law) they decided to break their own oath because they were afraid of what people would think of them.

And, now, they have sewn the seeds of anarchy because the law makers are now law breakers.

So, from the White House to Congress to the streets of America, we are seeing people in a general state of disorder because they are refusing to recognize and abide by the laws of the land. And the America that once boasted of being a nation of laws has become a nation of lawlessness. If we are not careful, we will become a nation gone bad...

The older I get, the more I look forward to Heaven! It's not that I expect everyone to be perfect here on earth, but I do think it is reasonable to expect that people will at least try to love one another more and respect the rule of law more.

Maybe if we all prayed for one another a little more, we could learn to get along. That's what I intend to do, because the alternative - a nation slouching towards anarchy - is almost unbearable to even consider. The verse below is what God has to say about people who refuse to recognize the law. Does it seem descriptive of what America is looking like to you? If so, maybe you can start praying for America and the millions of souls which make up this great nation that now seems to be fraying a bit at the edges.

"The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men."

Providence has given to our people the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their leaders.John Jay, First Supreme Court Justice

Perhaps the most distressing aspect of our leadership in America is their lack of vision. I’m convinced that the liberal segment of government really feels that they make things better when they dismantle the Constitution, just as I’m convinced that the conservative segment of government feels powerless to enforce that same Constitution when they see it being violated.

But they are wrong, and their erroneous thinking is robbing us of the very things we enjoy about America. Honesty, safety, purity, a strong work ethic, integrity and the like used to be the rule of our great country, not the exception. And things worked the way they were designed to because we were unashamedly a Christian nation - and true Christianity always works.

For example, our welfare system was set up to take care of those who are in genuine need. Do you know anyone (be honest with yourself now) that really wants our widows, the handicapped and those who truly cannot take care of themselves, to starve… or to go without clothing… or to live on the streets?

No decent person stands by and lets the innocent suffer, but by minimizing the Christian ethic and focusing on an “enlightened” secular humanism, we have corrupted the welfare system into a game of plunder instead of a handup.

Does anyone really believe that the Ten Commandments posted in a school orcourthouse will do any harm? Or that praying at a ball game will corrupt our children? Or that teaching these same children abstinence (instead of how many ways they can pervert themselves) will somehow be dangerous? Or that a Bible on the bed stand in a motel will cause atheists to suffer?

Our courts have voted that killing babies in the womb is noble, but that not keeping our 4’7” ten year olds in a booster seat is a crime that must be punished. Our grandmothers, wives and daughters are groped at every airport, while our government releases convicted terrorists who have sworn to kill as many Americans as possible. And, what we liked about America is rapidly disappearing.

You see, the truth is that wisdom comes only from God. So, when an enlightened society prefers worldly leaders and worldly ways over Christian leaders and Christian ways, is it any wonder that this same enlightened society loses everything that made it valuable in the firstplace? We must turn back to God, and soon, or we will risk losing everything that we love about this great nation. The reality is that the things we like about America can only come about through Christian living.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and knowledge. Proverbs 1:7, NIV

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

George Washington

One of George Washington's greatest strengths was his belief in God and in Jesus. Throughout his public life, he never shied away from his faith, nor from his reliance on God. At Valley Forge, his men came upon him on his knees in prayer. His prayer book that he wrote as a twenty-year old revealed a mature and humble reliance on his Lord Jesus Christ. He spoke freely of the Superintending Power that blessed the efforts of the Americans during the Revolutionary War.

While he did not flaunt his faith, he didn't hide it either, and he was firmly convinced that this fledgling nation could not be moral without religion. If you want to know why George Washington was loved, admired, and held in the highest respect and esteem - both during his life and for the 200 plus years following his death - you need go no further than his belief in God.

Contrast that to today, when our leaders get very, very nervous whenever the topic of religion is raised. So afraid are they of offending those with different religious beliefs, they hide their religious beliefs at all possible costs. And for most it is not a hard thing to do, for the smaller something is, the easier it is to hide.

Alexis de Toqueiville was a Frenchman who came to America in the 1830's, trying to find the secret of America's success. He said, "I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors... in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great, because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great."

As we view with sadness the current state of our nation, with the seemingly endless immoralities in everything from forbidden pleasures of the flesh, to the aborting of our next generation, perhaps we should pause for a moment and try to find why we have sunken so low. It is not because we have lost our harbors or fertile fields or boundless forests. It is not because our rich mines and vast world commerce have played out, nor is it because we no longer have a democratic Congress or a Constitution.

It is because we thought we could abandon religious principle and still be moral. It is because we thought we could still be good without righteousness, and that we could still be great without goodness.

The founders left us an amazing country because they established our country on the religious principles of Jesus Christ contained within the holy Word of God. So, if we want to return to the great nation that our founders left us, we are going to have to return to the religious principles that they founded this nation upon... or do we suppose, contrary to the founders' beliefs, that we can maintain a national morality exclusive of religious principle?

If we want to be a great nation again, then we are going to have to return to God and become a good nation, again.